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Opinion: How I knew it was time to euthanize my dog after 13 years of companionship

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Nearly every day my dog walked beside me. We walked throughout the city, on mountain trails, and along lakes and streams where, freed from the leash, she would eagerly jump in. Sometimes I was on horseback, snowshoes, or my bike, she keeping up in merry stride. I tested her patience by foraging for wild fruit when she wished to press on. I waited while she immersed herself in some enticing scent or took a luxuriant roll in the grass.For almost 13 years, my dog was my partner in adventure, my comfort in loneliness, and my loyal friend. Taking that final walk at the vet with her this week was a devastation that has left me inconsolable. Yet it was an act of devotion.(Photo courtesy Krista Kafer)Every first-time dog owner, indeed every owner of a beloved pet, wonders what they will do in such an eventuality. As much as we would like pets to die peacefully in sleep and relieve us of this grave responsibility, it is rarely that easy. Human beings can see beyond pain and suffering, as a h...

Sleep like the dead on the 13th floor or in Dracula’s den, plus other themed rooms at Colorado hotels

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

If you’re superstitious, you’ve probably noticed a lot of hotels don’t have room 13s or floor 13s. But at Mesa Verde Motel in Mancos, the odd-numbered room is one of the most special places to rest your head because it’s imbued with a dreamy, intergalactic theme complete with special lighting and some alien design features.Seriously spooky decor on the 13th floor of The Curtis Hotel in Denver. (Provided by The Curtis Hotel)In late 2021, when the owners acquired the 15-room roadside motel in southwest Colorado, they noticed that one of the rooms was wildly different from the rest, from the flooring to the walls, to the tiles and vanity. So they leaned into the uniqueness even harder and gave it a themed makeover that detours from the modern cowboy design defining the rest of the rooms.While a lot of hotels play it safe with beige boxes, some in Colorado — like the Mesa Verde Motel, where nightly rates for the themed room start at $147 —  are offering more playful ro...

Goodwill permanently closes fitting rooms at all but one Colorado store, blaming theft, vandalism, drug use

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Goodwill of Colorado closed the fitting rooms at its 42 retail locations due to high levels of theft, substance abuse and vandalism, the company announced last week.In a statement released Thursday, Goodwill of Colorado said the decision was made for the safety of its shoppers and team members.“This decision was not made lightly,” the statement said. “We are experiencing high levels of theft, substance abuse and vandalism in our fitting rooms and needed to make a difficult decision in order to keep our team members and shoppers safe.”Goodwill communications manager Ashley Furst said the number of shoplifting incidents nearly doubled from January to May.“This wasn’t an easy decision,” Furst said. “We were seeing a lot of tags on the floor from items we put out on the sales floor and our ability to fulfill our mission is directly supported by our retail locations.”The fitting rooms have been closed at all of Goodwill’s Colora...

Pacific Palisades country club chosen to host U.S. Open

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades will host the 2031 U.S. Open, according to the United States Golf Association.The announcement comes on the heels of what is being called a successful return to the Los Angeles area, after the 2023 U.S. Open was held at the Los Angeles Country Club.Riviera Country Club was built in 1927 and is located in the swanky Pacific Palisades community, nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The exclusive country club has hosted the Open before, but not since 1948 when Ben Hogan took the top spot after shooting eight under par.Hogan's 276 score was a U.S. Open record for nearly 20 years and his impressive string of success on the course led to it earning the nickname "Hogan's Alley."John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer, said the Riviera Country Club holds a "special place" in the history of golf.“We are thrilled to bring the U.S. Open back to the site of such historic moments for golf and the USGA and look f...

CA Companies approved to sell cell-cultivated chicken, formerly known as 'lab grown meat'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

U.S. regulators approved the sale of chicken cultivated from animal cells. The USDA gave the green light to California-based Upside Foods and Good Meat, to sell what is now referred to as "cell-cultivated" meat. The firms had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals."This is a historical watershed moment. This is the moment that food and meat changed for the better," Upside Foods COO, Amy Chen, told KTLA while celebrating the news for the first time. The approval allowed the two Golden State companies to offer what was previously referred to as “lab-grown” meat to restaurants, and eventually grocery stores.“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.In 2019, the United Nations Climate Change Report called for lower meat consumption to help ...

Hundreds march in L.A. as writers' strike reaches 50-day mark

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Demonstrators are marching from Pan Pacific Park to the La Brea Tar Pits Wednesday amid the ongoing writers' strike. The march and rally marks 50 days since Writers Guild of America members began striking, and it’s halfway to the 100-day strike that took place in 2007 and 2008.The WGA estimates that the strike is becoming very costly, indicating that the California economy has so far lost more than a $1 billion in economic output during the ongoing battle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.Demonstrators march in Central Los Angeles as the WGA strike reached its 50-day mark on June 21, 2023. (KTLA) Members are striking for higher pay and streaming residuals, limits on artificial intelligence use and mandatory staffing levels in writers’ rooms.“We’re waiting for studios and companies to come back to the table,” WGA strike captain Bill Wolkoff told KTLA. He added that the rally is a great way for members get together in one place and to remind each other what ...

California man who shocked police officer with stun gun during Capitol riot is sentenced to over 12 years in prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN | Associated Press|WASHINGTON — A California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of the courtroom where U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Only two other Jan. 6 defendants have received longer prison terms so far after hundreds of sentencings for Capitol riot cases.The judge said Rodriguez, 40, was “a one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property” at the Capitol.“You showed up in (Washington) D.C. spoiling for a fight,” Jackson said. “You can’t blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.”Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone ‘s body camera captured him screaming out in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun while ...

‘Mr. Kilgore is a reformed individual’: Suspect in 1976 Alameda slaying accepts probation plea deal, was also convicted of murder in 1987

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

OAKLAND — Just six months after he was arrested in connection with the 1976 strangulation death of an Alameda man, a San Luis Obispo resident has accepted a plea deal that will require him to serve just two years of probation, avoiding a prison sentence altogether.For 65-year-old Anthony Kilgore Sr., the plea deal is just the latest twist in an adult life spent mostly behind bars, trying to prove he’d turned a corner in life despite horrific past deeds. Kilgore was arrested last year on suspicion of killing 23-year-old Nicholas Powers on Nov. 5, 1976, but just four years earlier he’d been paroled from state prison for strangling a woman to death in Redondo Beach in 1987.The new murder charge appeared at first to almost guarantee Kilgore would be headed back to prison, this time for good. But on May 2, Alameda County Judge James Cramer made the surprising move of releasing Kilgore from jail over the objections of the District Attorney’s Office, agreeing with K...

Fatal Dublin crash leaves 2 dead

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

(KRON) -- Two people were killed in a single vehicle crash in Dublin on Tuesday night, the Dublin Police Department said. Dublin PD responded to a report of a single vehicle collision in the area of Dougherty Road and Fall Creek Road at about 10:30 p.m.Arriving at the scene, police located a dark-colored BMW M3 that had crashed into a tree and light pole and become engulfed in flames. Once the fire was put out, it was determined that both the vehicle's occupants were deceased. The driver was a 25-year-old man. The passenger was described as an "unknown male." Broad daylight strong-arm robbery in Palo Alto being investigated Both victims are thought to be San Ramon residents.A primary investigation into the crash is being handled by the Dublin Police Services Traffic Unit. Following a preliminary investigation, police believe that excessive speed may have been a factor in the crash."Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the victims," police said.

Big rig collision blocks SR-237 onramp, Sunnyvale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

(KRON) -- A big rig overturned on a Sunnyvale onramp for State Route 237 on Wednesday morning, causing delays, according to the California Highway Patrol. Strong-arm robbery in Palo Alto under investigation The Mathilda Avenue onramp to SR-237 faced a total closure when a big rig toppled over after a collision. The truck was carrying what appeared to be chunks of concrete, which spilled out across the ramp. (Photos courtesy of CHP San Jose)Photos from the scene show a Subaru Forester was also involved in the collision. The Subaru's back window was smashed out and the rear-end crushed from the impact with the big rig. CHP did not share when the ramp is expected to be reopened.